Department for Transport

Railways: Franchises

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum number of bids for rail franchises they require to create the necessary competitive tension to ensure value for money for the travelling public, and in particular whether they consider that three bids is sufficient for that purpose.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Whilst the Department for Transport prefer to have three bids for each franchise competition, as was the established practice under the previous government, we are prepared to accept that on occasion, we may only have two genuine bidders.

Southern: Tickets

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Southern Rail does not close ticket offices until it installs ticket machines that make it possible for customers to buy the best-value ticket combinations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern services is developing proposals to improve the passenger experience at stations. This will include changes to the way staff work at stations and how tickets are retailed and incorporates a plan to install additional ticket vending machines. Where the changes involve changes to ticket office opening hours there is an industry process which GTR must follow, starting with their public consultation which commenced on 22 February. We recognise that passengers can feel very strongly about ticket office opening hours and we expect GTR to take on board the views of stakeholders before taking the proposal forward.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Lord Freeman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the requirements on airlines using UK airports for frequently changing air filters in all cabins and what is the maximum permitted interval between changing air filters.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The filters are changed in accordance with the manufacturer's routine maintenance schedules. It is in the operator's interest to change the filters in accordance with the schedule; with time the pores in the filters become congested with material. This congestion can increase the efficiency of the filter in removing particles from the air, but also increases the resistance to air flow. Therefore greater pressure and power is required to maintain the cabin air flow, which in turn increases fuel-burn and therefore costs.

Railway Stations

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, if they privatise or lease railway stations, they will ensure that convenient facilities are maintained on such stations for their primary purpose of serving passengers.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Network Rail is exploring new models for station management and ownership with the goal to bring improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options but no decisions have been taken at this early stage. Any decisions on such potential future options will take account of the ‎findings of Nicola Shaw's report into the longer term shape and financing of Network Rail.

Road Traffic: Greater London

Lord Smith of Clifton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the average speeds of traffic flows recorded in central London for the years 2008 to 2015 inclusive.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The average speeds are as set out in the table below. This information is based on material published on the Transport for London website. Average traffic speeds (miles per hour) by functional sector of London. Working weekdays, by time period. TfL’s ‘network of interest’. Area and time period2007 speed (mph)2008 speed (mph)2009 speed (mph)2010 speed (mph)2011 speed (mph)2012 speed (mph)2013 speed (mph)2014 speed (mph)2015 speed (mph) first 6 months onlyCentral am peak9.49.19.49.49.39.39.48.98.3Central inter-peak8.58.38.88.78.58.58.58.17.3Central pm peak98.98.98.78.68.88.68.37.8Inner am peak12.612.412.912.712.712.612.411.911.1Inner inter-peak13.11313.313.413.313.213.212.812.2Inner PM peak11.411.411.211.511.411.411.210.610.3Outer am peak19.319.620.12020.119.919.518.617.7Outer inter-peak21.321.421.421.621.621.721.821.121Outer pm peak18.318.618.318.518.518.518.117.116.9

Road Works: Greater London

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many miles of public road in central London for which they are responsible are (1) completely closed, and (2) only partially open, to vehicles due to roadworks; on whose authority those roadworks are being conducted; what is the estimated total cost of those roadworks; and when they expect those roadworks to be completed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is not directly responsible for any roads in central London, and does not therefore hold this information. London’s roads fall into three main categories; the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), known as red routes, which are managed by Transport for London (TfL); the Borough Principal Road Network (BPRN) managed by the individual London boroughs; and a small number of motorways forming part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) managed by Highways England. All of the above are subject to the London Permit Scheme (LoPS) which was brought in to minimise the disruption caused by roadworks and streetworks across London. Each borough and TfL have their own schemes, ensuring local control of conditions on local roads. The Transport for London Lane Rental Scheme (TLRS) also helps manage works on the TLRN at traffic-sensitive locations. A daily charge of £800 or £2500 per day is applied, depending upon the sensitivity of the location. This scheme has helped to reduce traffic disruption by changing the behaviour of utility companies and other contractors.

Home Office

Habitual Residence Test

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 29 June 2015 (HL541), what action they have taken to make it easier for human trafficking victims whose circumstances make it difficult to provide evidence that they have been habitually resident in the UK for three months to provide such evidence.

Lord Bates: A significant number of victims of modern slavery who are identified in the UK are provided support through the government funded victim-care contract for 90 days or longer. Where this is the case, we have ensured that the support provider is able to supply the Department for Work and Pensions with a letter as evidence that the individual has been habitually resident in the UK for more than three months. For the remaining cases where they receive support for less than 90 days, evidence may be provided by the police or other statutory agencies involved in the case confirming the victim has been living in the UK for more than three months, where such evidence exists.

Offences against Children: South Yorkshire

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current performance and practices of South Yorkshire Police regarding investigations of sexual exploitation of children.

Lord Bates: As I set out in response to the Noble Lord on 20 August 2015, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary published a National Child Protection Inspection post-inspection review of South Yorkshire Police in July 2015. The report found that South Yorkshire Police had made child protection a priority and was taking steps to improve its response to child sexual exploitation although areas of poor practice still remained. South Yorkshire Police must continue to work towards implementing Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary’s recommendations. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary is continuing to monitor South Yorkshire Police’s approach to child protection.The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner has commissioned an independent review into the force’s handling of reports of child sexual exploitation. The review, led by Professor John Drew, launched on 30 September and the report will be published this year.

Dangerous Dogs

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many seized dogs are being held by police services across the UK, and how many of those have been held for over one year.

Lord Bates: This information is not collected centrally.

Department for Education

Teachers

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of those who started with Teach First in August 2013 were still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.

Lord Nash: The Teach First programme aims to raise levels of pupil attainment in challenging schools. Since it was founded, Teach First has trained over 5,000 teachers in England, with a further 1,622 starting training in 2015, covering every region of the country.Figures supplied to the Department by Teach First show that 1,206 trainees started the two-year leadership development programme in schools in September 2013. Of those, 544[1] are known to be still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.Additionally, the Teach First programme has acted as a positive springboard for participants to continue their commitment to the education sector; a number of trainees from this cohort have remained in the education industry in wider roles including outside the classroom, in charities and overseas. Data provided by Teach First in December 2015 shows that 69%[1] of the participants who had completed the two-year programme are known to be in teaching or in these wider educational roles.[1] Only participants that choose to become Ambassadors for Teach First are tracked in relation to future employment. A total of 1,041 participants completed the two year programme; of these 981 chose to become Ambassadors for Teach First, and by doing so, were tracked in relation to future employment.

Schools: Admissions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what general steps they plan to take to ensure that all schools change their admission arrangements in line with recommendations by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

Lord Nash: Where the Schools Adjudicator determines that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, the admission authority has a statutory duty to revise its admission arrangements. The school must comply with the Adjudicator’s decision within two months of the decision or by 28 February following the decision, whichever is sooner, unless an alternative timescale is specified by the Adjudicator.An Adjudicator’s decision is binding and enforceable by the Secretary of State.

Schools: Admissions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of all the schools that have had their admission arrangements objected to in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015, what percentage were found not to have violated the School Admissions Code at least once.

Lord Nash: In 2013/14, the percentage of objections referred to the adjudicator which were not upheld was 14%. In 2014/15, the percentage was 20%.

School Meals: Finance

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which schools will no longer receive the extra £2,300 per school per year to help provide hot meals.

Lord Nash: In 2015-16, each maintained school in England with 150 pupils or fewer received temporary funding to help with the transition to universal infant free school meals (UIFSM). The full list of schools who received this funding in 2015-16 is attached alongside this response. Full details of 2015-16 funding allocations for UIFSM can be found on GOV.UK. 



UIFSM_Transitional_Funding
(Excel SpreadSheet, 500 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the regulations relating to frozen state pensions.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people living in each of the Overseas Territories are in receipt of a UK state pension which is (1) frozen, or (2) uprated annually.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people living in each of the countries of the Commonwealth are in receipt of a UK state pension which is (1) frozen, or (2) uprated annually.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people living in each country of the EU are in receipt of the UK state pension which is currently uprated annually under EU regulations and reciprocal agreements, and what assessment they have made of what will happen to those pensions if the UK leaves the EU.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries, excluding the Commonwealth, EU, or Overseas Territories, do people in receipt of the UK state pension receive annual uprating of their pension.

Baroness Altmann: The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK state pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this.Details of the numbers of people in receipt of the state pension, and whether they live in countries where the state pension is frozen or uprated, is included at Annex A. Countries where the UK state pension is up-rated are identified by an asterisk by the name of the country.The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Of course there is uncertainty about how a vote to leave the EU could impact on access to pensioner benefits for UK pensioners living in other parts of Europe. These questions would need to be answered as part of the process of negotiating the UK’s exit if there is a vote to leave. We could only consider the detail of access to pensions and benefits for people in receipt of UK state pensions who are resident in Europe as part of the process for leaving the EU.



Annex A
(PDF Document, 86.85 KB)

Department for Communities and Local Government

Community Engagement Forum

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often they hold community engagement forum meetings, and what the criteria are for selecting participants.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Community Engagement Forums are regularly hosted by the Prime Minister and are attended by different members of communities from across the country. The Forums focus on different themes and therefore participants are invited who have backgrounds in the relevant subject of the meeting.

English Language: Education

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5140), which six projects are to receive some of the £20 million in funding, and for what purposes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We have provided £8 million over three years to support six community-based English language projects delivered by e3, Faith Action, the Local Education Authorities Forum for the Education of Adults, Manchester City Council, TimeBank, and the Tinder Foundation. Together these projects will have supported 33,500 isolated adults by the end of March 2016.No decisions have yet been taken on who will deliver the new £20 million programme. We will use the learning from our current projects, along with the findings of Louise Casey’s review of integration, to ensure it is targeted on and meets the needs of those who need it most.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register: Young People

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to support Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016, as well as the efforts by other organisations to engage and register (1) attainers, and (2) young voters, ahead of the elections in May and the EU referendum.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The introduction of online voter registration makes it easier and faster to register to vote. This provided a platform for Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016 which made heavy use of on digital media. The Government supported the initiative by encouraging government departments and relevant stakeholders such as local authorities to promote it. Since its introduction, three quarters of applications to register to vote were made online by people aged 16-24. As part of the week long activity, my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for Constitutional Reform met with representatives of several faith organisations to discuss democratic participation.

Charities: Lobbying

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which, if any, ministers and officials have met representatives of the Institute of Economic Affairs since May 2012 to discuss proposals that resulted in the change announced on 6 February to the terms and conditions attached to all grant agreement letters issued by public-sector grant providers to recipients of grant funding.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Information of all government meetings is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The details of ministerial meetings are provided in transparency documents available on Gov.uk website.

Freedom of Information

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make any changes to freedom of information legislation, in particular on the use of false names when seeking disclosure; and if so, what changes they propose, and when will they be brought forward.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government established the Freedom of Information Commission to review the Freedom of Information Act and we will give careful consideration to its recommendations. Section 8(1)(b) of the FOI Act already requires applicants to provide their real name.

Civil Servants

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total number of civil servants; and what percentage are based outside London and the south-east of England.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Referral Letter
(PDF Document, 63.46 KB)

Urban Areas

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average growth in Gross Value Added for (1) the English Core Cities, and (2) Liverpool, from 2009 to 2014.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Referral Letter
(PDF Document, 77.86 KB)

Department of Health

UK Stem Cell Bank

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5647), whether the UK Stem Cell Bank holds appropriately detailed records on the origin of stem cell lines deposited therein; and if so, when any bona fide stem cells derived from trophectoderm were recorded as having been deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank.

Lord Prior of Brampton: When human embryonic stem cell lines are deposited at UK Stem Cell Bank originators of the cells complete a detailed application that includes the scientific characteristics of the cells. Applications to deposit cell lines derived in the United Kingdom are reviewed to confirm that they comply with Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority licencing by the steering committee. The cell lines currently deposited with UK Stem Cell Bank do not include human stem cell lines derived from trophectoderm.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cancer medicines launched since June 2015 are available via the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No new cancer medicines have been added to the national Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list since June 2015. As part of its work to reprioritise the Fund in 2015-16, NHS England took the decision not to consider new drugs for inclusion on the national CDF list. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Fund. The consultation outlines a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit. Clinicians continue to be able to apply for cancer drugs not on the national CDF list through the Individual Cancer Drugs Funding Request procedure.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence about whether new medicines not accessible through the Cancer Drugs Fund since June 2015 will be prioritised for early review under the proposed new terms of that Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department has had regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England about the future operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund, including arrangements for the assessment of cancer drugs that are not currently available through the Fund.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients of the pause in listing new drugs accessible through the Cancer Drugs Fund introduced in June 2015.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We have made no such assessment. As part of its work to reprioritise the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) in 2015-16, NHS England took the decision not to consider new drugs for inclusion on the national CDF list. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Fund. The consultation outlined a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit. Clinicians continue to be able to apply for cancer drugs not on the national CDF list through the Individual Cancer Drugs Funding Request procedure.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many more cancer medicines will be available to patients as a result of the proposals for a revised Cancer Drugs Fund to be effective from 1 April.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients they expect to benefit from the latest cancer medicines as a result of the proposals for a revised Cancer Drugs Fund to be effective from 1 April.

Lord Prior of Brampton: We have made no such assessment. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). The consultation outlines a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit. The consultation closed on 11 February 2016. NHS England has advised that the operational detail of the new scheme will be developed over the coming months, informed by detailed analysis and consideration of the consultation responses received. A new Standard Operating Procedure for the CDF will be published by June 2016. Any changes to the list of available treatments through the Fund as a result of the changes in model will be published in due course. NHS England has advised that it is optimistic that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning in the future as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and the new CDF being able to address issues as to longer term patient outcomes in order to give such drugs the chance of re-appraisal by NICE with greater certainty as to clinical and cost effectiveness.

Cancer

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February(HL5344) and on 11 February(HL5970),how many of the 8,000 expected clinical reports are in the cancer part of that project, as compared to the rare disease; and in the cancer part of that project, how many are planned for delivery by the end of (1) March, (2) June, and (3) September.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The 100,000 Genomes project cancer pipeline is still being evaluated and the precise proportion of the reports that will relate to cancer is not currently known.

Health Professions: Working Hours

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of medical and diagnostic staff working (1) Monday to Friday, and (2) Saturdays and Sundays.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department has not made an assessment of the number of medical and diagnostic staff working Monday to Friday; and Saturdays and Sundays. Information on numbers of staff by day of the week is held by individual trusts.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Baroness Walmsley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to make the Meningitis B vaccine available on the NHS to children born before 1 May 2015.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises ministers on immunisation matters, recommended a meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme that will protect infants because they are at highest risk, with the peak incidence of MenB being in infants at about five months of age. The MenB vaccine is offered to babies at two months of age, with further doses offered when they reach four and 12 months of age. The JCVI keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available. If the JCVI provides further advice about the programme, we will consider this.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legal power the Secretary of State for Health is able to impose junior doctors' contracts on NHS Foundation Trusts.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Secretary of State is not imposing the junior doctors’ contract on National Health Service foundation trusts which are free to determine the terms and conditions, including pay, for the staff they employ. Most choose to use national contracts. Senior NHS leaders have advised that the new contract, 90% of which was agreed with the British Medical Association, will be fair and reasonable for doctors in training and for the service and will be safer for patients. Health Education England has made clear that a single national approach is essential to safeguard the organisation and delivery of postgraduate medical training. NHS Improvement has stated that it will support trusts to ensure the new national contract is implemented consistently.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what authority the chief executive of NHS Improvement is able to instruct NHS Foundation Trusts to enforce the junior doctors' contract consistently.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Chief Executive did not instruct National Health Service foundation trusts to enforce the new national junior contract. On 15 February he wrote to NHS foundation trust and NHS trust Chief Executive Officers and Chairs and said that: “We must all now work together, across all professional groups, to help the service implement the contract consistently and address the concerns raised by junior doctor colleagues”.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what pressure, if any, they have placed on Health Education England to penalise NHS Foundation Trusts in respect of the funding of training places if they do not implement the junior doctors' contract consistently.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government has not pressured Health Education England to penalise National Health Service foundation trusts. The emphasis of the letter sent by Health Education England’s Chief Executive, Professor Ian Cumming OBE, to all trusts on 15 February this year, was clear on the need for consistent implementation to ensure that patients get the care they need where they need it and junior doctors get the training they need across the whole of the NHS: “A single national approach is essential to safeguard the organisation and delivery of postgraduate medical training to ensure all doctors can secure the professional development they require to complete their training programmes. We are not prepared to see a system where a competition based on a local employer’s ability to offer different terms is part of the recruitment process. The recruitment process should be based on patient and service need and quality of training as it always has been. Therefore implementation of the national contract will be a key criterion for Health Education England in making its decisions on our investment in training posts.”

Health Professions: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider suspending their consultation on how to implement grants and tuition fees for nursing, midwives and allied health professional healthcare students, and instead consult fully on a range of proposals that would best deliver a sustainable future workforce with access to high quality education and clinical training.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In the Spending Review 2015 the Government announced that from 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students will no longer receive National Health Service bursaries and will move onto the standard student loans system. The Government has set out its intention for these changes to be implemented in August 2017. Ahead of this, the Government will issue a public consultation on how we most successfully implement these reforms. The consultation will welcome a range of views from stakeholders, which the Government will consider before publishing its consultation response later in the year.

Obesity

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish their strategy to tackle obesity in the UK.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Childhood Obesity Strategy will be a key step forward in helping our children live healthier lives. There is still work across Government to be done to get it right, so the strategy will be published in the summer.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the renewal of accreditation has been granted to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence announced on 26 February 2016 that the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network has been re-accredited until 31 March 2020.

Pain

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will produce quality standards based on the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network regarding the management of chronic pain.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it has been asked to develop a quality standard on pain management in young people and adults. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guideline 136 on the management of pain has been identified as a possible development source alongside existing NICE guidance on pain management.

NHS Trusts: Finance

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5282), what were the sources and total cost of the "non-recurrent deficit support income" used to fund directly the 125 trusts that would otherwise have been in deficit in financial year 2014/15; how many of those deficit trusts continued to require such deficit support during the financial year 2015/16; how many other NHS trusts are likely to receive such support in financial year 2015/16; what is the estimated total cost of such deficit support in financial year 2015/16; and what is the forecast contingency provision for such support in financial year 2016/17.

Lord Prior of Brampton: To clarify my previous answer on 27 January (HL5282), 15 National Health Service providers received non-recurrent deficit support income from the Department in 2014/15, and without this income seven organisations would have reported a year-end deficit. This would have added to the 118 NHS providers that reported a financial deficit, resulting in a total of 125 NHS providers reporting an underlying deficit. The total cost of this deficit support income was £176.3 million in 2014/15. Funding for this was provided through releasing resources from areas where there were no clear plans for spending. The deficit support income does have the presentational effect of reducing or removing the deficit but the underlying deficit position is transparent in reporting and provider accounts and still remains until the trusts are in recurrent balance and are no longer needing financial support.2015/16 information will be published alongside the Department’s accounts and providers are expected to report this income separately in their accounts.For 2016/17, the £1.8 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund will help providers to move to a sustainable financial footing.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cancer medicines are expected to be given a conditional approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the first year of operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that it is unable to provide a forecast as the number of technology appraisals published during the first year of the new Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) will depend on a number of factors including the value proposition put forward by manufacturers. NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the CDF, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, under the new Cancer Drugs Fund, what steps will be taken to secure early patient access to cancer medicines with Promising Innovative Medicines designation that have successfully passed through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency's Early Access to Medicines Scheme.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that, under the proposals considered and approved by NHS England’s Board on 25 February 2016, the new Cancer Drugs Fund will provide access at drug launch for drug/indications which have a draft National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendation for use including those drugs that have successfully been through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme.